He made a sound like a purr, rubbing his filmy back-fin against my palm. I smiled and patted him gently, offering him more food.
He shot me images of colorful fish and I chuckled. “Maybe next meal.”
He tugged at my hand with his little teeth and I played with him, tugging back and forth until he got tired and curled up in my lap again his small head on his tiny haunches. He was asleep before he’d even finished settling in.
“I’ll take care of you, Nasataa,” I said gently. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to be afraid. I’m not going to leave you.”
Tears sprung to my eyes at the memory of my first parents – who had died as they tried to get me to safety – of my bodyguard, who had died doing the same – of Ramariri who had made it as far as this island, fighting death for hours so he could bring me somewhere safe. All those people had died for me. It didn’t make sense just to live for myself. And I wasn’t going to. No matter what people said about it being easier. My parents were being silly, too. Because they had taken me in – a helpless foreigner – and I knew they’d be doing the same thing for Nasataa if they weren’t so worried about me.
I hadn’t realized I was crying until someone sat down beside me. Hurriedly, I brushed my tears away.
“I have something for you,” Heron said, offering me a bead-sewn bag with double shoulder straps and a flap closure at the top. It was big enough to carry two Nasataa’s – or one Nasataa for another couple of weeks if he kept growing like he was. “I saw that you lost your other bag.”
“Thank you,” I said with a sniff. Where had he even found such a pretty bag? I was pretty sure that was a curling wave beaded onto the back.
“Don’t be mad, Seleska,” he said.
“I’m not mad at you,” I said. “But I have promised this little guy that I’m going to take care of him, and nothing is going to stop that.” I looked at him as fiercely as I could. “Not the village, or my parents, or even you.”
Nasataa snuggled in closer as I felt the beadwork on the bag Heron had given me. It was really well made. Not something from the village. Had he gotten it in Abergande? When would he have done that?
“I’m not going to try to convince you to send him away,” Heron said, his dark eyes glittering under the light of the rising moon. “If the Elders and the village and your parents can’t, then I sure can’t. But can I convince you not to do crazy things like boarding mercenary ships and trying to sink them? Or whatever that thing was that you did that actually sunk the ship? I can’t really remember that part.”
“It wasn’t me,” I admitted. “It was a Blue Dragon.”
Heron chuckled, the bandage around his head slipping a little so that he looked almost jaunty. “And you act like everyone is crazy to call them dangerous!”
“I didn’t say they weren’t dangerous,” I protested. “I said that Nasataa is only a baby and that he needs my protection.”
“You know,” Heron said with a gentle smile. “I think you might be right that he isn’t the most dangerous thing around here. You are. You’re way worse than he is for drawing trouble.” He laughed and I glared at him, but eventually, he sobered up and spoke again. “Just promise me that you’ll stay out of trouble, Seleska.”
“I’ll try,” I said.
“I have to finish this apprenticeship, so I can’t be around all the time to keep you safe.”
“I was the one who saved you last night!”
He chuckled. “Just promise.”
I leaned in close so that we were inches apart before giving him a wicked grin. “I will do nothing of the sort, Heron. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“Tradewinds protect us! You couldn’t have asked for something easier? Like bringing you a chest full of rubies?” I laughed as he stood up. “I’d better get back to the village, before someone starts to worry about me. Friends?”
“Always,” I agreed.
But as he sauntered back to the village, I bit my lip and turned to the sea. I couldn’t stay here and endanger everyone, and I couldn’t abandon Nasataa. And that meant that my options were limited. Where else could I go? How could I stop more ships from coming here and more people from hunting down my village, and family, and friends?
There had to be a way to head off trouble before it got here.
Chapter Four
It wasn’t so much a decision. ‘Decision’ implies that you thought something through and looked at all the angles before action. Decision implies carefully weighing the risk rather than following the song of the sea.
When I slipped Nasataa into the bag Heron gave me and closed the flap, that was more of an action. When I slipped it on my back and stole a wistful glance back at my village and the silhouette of my parent’s cabin, that was more of a longing. When I followed the song of the sea and took my first step toward the water, that was more of an instinct. I wouldn’t have called any of that a decision.
Instead, it was with a sad, but singing heart and a determined set to my jaw that I strode out into the waves and kept on walking long after they’d flowed over my head and covered my swirling hair.
If it had been a decision, I would have shed those ridiculous boots for a sensible pair of sandals and I would have packed extra clothes and blankets, a waterskin and some food. If it had been a decision, I would have said goodbye to everyone before I went. But because it was an action inspired entirely by emotion, I just went.
And I kept on going, searching the sea bottom in the direction I remembered emerging from, until I was led to the old wreck by the glow of the portal.
It would be silly to go through that, right? It would just take me back to the cave north of Abergande. I circled the glowing portal, feeling Nasataa’s breathing as he inhaled and exhaled the water all around us. He was comforting to have there, even if I was the one charged with taking care of him.
The strange markings around the portal were impossible for me to understand. I could see them easily – squiggles and lines and dots and triangles – but I couldn’t read them. One of them – a circle with a squiggly line beside it – was glowing. Experimentally, I touched another sign on the rim – two triangles with a dot beside them. At the touch of my finger, they depressed slightly and began to glow as the circle and squiggly line winked out.
Maybe the runes determined where this portal took you. Maybe each rune took you a different place. I could try that out. At least I knew where one rune went – the circle with the squiggle must lead to the rocky cave I’d sheltered in before. So, if I followed this portal to another place, I wouldn’t be stuck. I could choose the circle and squiggle and go home – or close to home – quite easily.
Well, I’d be crazy not to try, right? After all, I needed a way to get far away from here. Maybe not for good, and maybe not right now, but eventually. If I knew how this worked, it would be a good option for me. I’d just try one rune. But which one?
I let my gaze flick along the runes trying to see if one of them appealed to me.
I kind of liked the one with the circle inside the triangle and the wavy line under it. I’d try that one. And hope there weren’t sharks on the other side. Or Blue Dragons.
But that was the genius of this. If I didn’t like where I went, I could just come right back home again. Besides, the village would be happy to have me safely out of their way for a few hours. They had conversations to talk through and decisions to make and my presence only made all of that more awkward. Even my parents needed time to process all of this in peace.
I was doing the right thing by giving them that space.
I pressed the sign that appealed to me so much – the circle inside the triangle with the wavy line under it – and stepped into the glow.
The world vanished and everything went dark.
A moment later, I blinked my vision back. Wherever I was, it was day here. The water was clear, but colder than at home – and yet the cold didn’t seem to bother me as much as I would have expected. Was there more magic to who I was
than just the ability to breathe under water?
This water was less turquoise and more of a steely grey. Neat.
A rocky bottom surrounded the portal here with waving weeds, taller than I was. I shouldn’t go too far. It would be easy to get lost in this. But I did want to know what kind of place I’d found.
Taking a deep breath, I swam up to the surface. The water here was not very deep at all and my head broke the surface far more quickly than I had expected.
I coughed on the air – always a surprise after water- and my eyes grew huge as I took in the sight before me. I was looking at a city – a city anchored to the land but sprawling out across the water. Boardwalks hung or swung between towers rooted in the water and boats swanned in and out from among the towers. Branches sprouted from every side of these towers, bearing round houses and inns and shops, spiral stairways, ladders, and swinging bridges connecting them.
A smile spread across my face at the marvelous sight. Well, this was a good idea! Good thing I hadn’t talked myself out of coming here or I never would have seen this amazing place.
I was still grinning like an idiot when something hit me from behind and the world went black.
Chapter Five
I awoke in a woven cage of reeds. Or at least, they looked like reeds, but when I tugged at them, they didn’t budge at all and they slashed my hands like they were made of metal. Nasataa squirmed against my back and I reached awkwardly over my shoulder to unclasp the flap and let him out.
He squealed with delight, running across my shoulders and then leaping into my lap. I shot him a quick warning about the steel basket, sending a mental image of how it had cut me, and he sent a mental image of himself flaming the basket.
I didn't expect that to work, but I was still disappointed when it did nothing. At least whoever had put us in this cage had left food and water. We both ate and drank immediately.
This basket – cage? – had a view, that was for sure. We were dangling over the water from the side of one of those towers. This one – a green tower with silver ornamentation – was at the very edge of the tower and water city. Underneath it, boats moved as often and quickly as people moved in the boardwalks of Abergande back home. There were sailboats and rowboats, fishing boats and fancy boats with canopies carrying people. I watched them for the first long while before letting my gaze move to the other towers and the people moving on the walkways and ladders, through the shops and open-sided restaurants, into homes and into the thick towers themselves. In the distance, big ships lay at anchor, smaller boats running to and from them like baby ducks to their mothers.
If I had not been a prisoner, I would have enjoyed this sight. If I had not been a prisoner, I would have been delightfully curious about this city – what was it called? Who lived here? How did they get along when so many of them lived in one place?
But I was a prisoner, and the tightening knot in my belly was growing tighter by the hour, slowly choking out my appetite, my joy, my certainty, and even my curiosity. I no longer cared about who had taken me or why. I only cared about getting home. I clung to Nasataa, whispering comforting words to him as he played with my hair or slept in my lap.
Eventually, there was a creak and I looked down the long, narrow arm of my basket to see a strange figure approaching. He – or maybe she – was clad in flowing red clothing, tied tightly around the wrists and ankles. It billowed out like a sail around him – obscuring the shape of his body almost entirely – while round glass pieces obscured his eyes and a tight-fitting leather mask covered his mouth and nose. The rest of his head was hidden by a heavy red hood that was part of the billowing outfit.
Who in the world could this be?
He approached the cage with caution, looking back and forth from the tower to the cage as if he were nervous about approaching me. Which was ridiculous, since I was the one in the cage. I stayed sitting cross-legged with Nasataa playing in my lap. I couldn’t have stood up anyway. The cage was too small for that.
“Who are you?” I asked boldly as soon as he was close. “You’d better have a good reason for putting me in this cage!”
He froze, watching me for a long moment before pulling down the leather mask and revealing a chin and nose that looked decidedly feminine.
“I’m a Bubbler of the Rock Eater City of Metamora.” Definitely a woman, but the way she spoke sounded distracted, like her mind was on something else.
“What do you want with me?”
There was no response.
“Well?” I demanded. “Why have you put me in a cage?”
“You trespassed.”
“In the sea?” I tried to keep the scoffing out of my voice.
“The sea is ours and all that lies within.”
“That’s a pretty big claim.” If I’d been standing, I would have put my hands on my hips.
“You and your creature are to be inspected by the Saaasallla and your fate will be determined at that time.”
“Fate?” I pressed. “What do you mean fate?”
“Your manner of death.”
“Shouldn’t there be a trial?” I wasn’t sure if I was more angry or afraid at these words. “A chance to present my case to the Elders and be found innocent or guilty?”
“You are already guilty. Your manner of death is all that is left to be determined. The Saaasallla favors drowning.”
Well, he’d be waiting a long time if he tried that on me.
“Is there no mercy in this place?” I protested.
“This explanation is our mercy. You are owed nothing. Not even that.”
She spun and left me gaping. I should never have stepped into that portal and entered this mad world. I needed to get out of this cage and back to my home as fast as I could go. No amount of disappointment from my community could be as bad as this!
Chapter Six
The sea sang to me. Out of reach – far beneath my hanging basket – and yet it sang to me of rippling currents, of lapping waters, of schooling fish, of rain on the surface, and winds whipping up waves. It sang to me the siren song of freedom, of flying through wind and surf with my hair streaming behind me and my cheeks flushed with exertion. It sang to me the glorious song of dawn catching each ripple of water and painting it gold and pink, of sunset doing the same in the autumn tones of orange and red. It sang of the deeps where great creatures moved unseen, where blindness was no barrier and new worlds sprang forth with creatures strange and magnificent.
And that song filled me up and kept my heart strong as I watched the foreign city around me prepare for my execution.
“It’s been decided,” my strange visitor said when she came again, removing her mask for long enough to speak to me. “Death by fire.”
“Fire? You seem to have a lot more water around here than you do fire.” My heart had leapt into overdrive. I hadn’t really expected this. Even with all the talk about killing me, it hadn’t occurred to me that they were actually going to find a way to do it. I swallowed uncomfortably.
“Even so. Thus, it is declared by the Saaasalla.”
“But this Saaasallla doesn’t know me!” I said. Would Nasataa survive this? He could breathe underwater, but what about fire? Did dragons have any immunity to fire? I sure hoped so. I felt like I might be ill.
“It matters not.”
“He might change his mind if he knew me. I’m valuable.”
The blank face didn’t change. “Not valuable enough.”
How much should I tell her? I should tell her something that would keep me from being burned alive. After all, if her people had sent mercenaries looking for me, then I must be worth keeping alive, right?
“I can breathe underwater,” I said, starting with the most remarkable thing that I knew for sure.
“So can I.”
I hadn’t expected that. An icy chill shot through me. Maybe I really wasn’t all that special.
“I’m a princess,” I said through a dry mouth, offering my last tidbit up.
&nb
sp; “So am I.”
Oh. Well. I’d run out of protests.
After a moment, she turned and walked away and I tried not to let panic and despair seize me as I sat helplessly in a cage awaiting a horrific death.
There had to be some way out of this.
Below us, on another platform, they were beginning to pile wood for a huge fire. A fire that would put my village bonfires to shame.
Nasataa yawned sleepily, stretching out on my lap. I could have sworn he’d grown in the night. He was the size of a large cat now, his tail as long as my arm. He chewed sleepily at my sleeve, a string of drool running from his mouth, and sent me a mental image of leaving the cage and going back into the sea. He was sick of being trapped here.
So was I. And fear filled me, running along my bones until it became a part of me. How could I protect this little life when I couldn’t even protect myself?
“Wait!” I called to the Bubbler. She was almost too far away to hear, but she must have heard me anyway. She strode back down the walkway and I waited until she was close before I continued. “I know that you’re executing me, but what about him?” I held Nasataa up. “Couldn’t he go free?”
“No.”
“But he’s not the one who broke your law.”
“The Enemy is killed on sight. He was only spared this long because he was with you.”
She turned on her heel and strode away again.
The enemy? Why did everyone hate Blue Dragons so much? Had they sunk ships here, too? But there were so many in the harbor that it was hard to believe. If Blue Dragons wanted to sink them, they easily could. It must be for some other reason.
Poor Nasataa. He lived in a world that hated him for what he was no matter that he was only a baby and so far, entirely innocent of any crime.
I tried not to give in to the sinking feeling in the pit of my belly, but I was all out of options. I’d tried everything that I could to save us – given up all my secrets and even tried to just get him free without me. There were no other options left to me.
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